This article aims to shed light on one our favorites. One such supplement that has piqued curiosity is montmorillonite clay – an ancient substance known for its detoxifying properties and potential health benefits. We will explore how this unusual substance is used in alternative medicine and its potential effects on the body.

Although the idea of eating clay as a “delicacy” may seem foreign, most of us are already dirt eaters in our daily lives in that we seek salt from the earth or oceans to add to our diet. We usually don’t think of salt as dirt, but salt is a deposit found in rocks, and clay and dirt are nothing more than weathered rocks.

I first read about animals eating clay in an article by Linda Clark, author of Get Well Naturally, who mentioned that elk, deer, coyote, and lynx gather in certain areas that contained clay.

Animals are instinctively drawn to clay, she said, often when it is in the form of mud. The animals lick the clay or, if injured, roll around in it to obtain relief from their injuries. Later, I learned more about other creatures who also depend upon clay as an important part of their everyday diet.

For the longest time, it was thought to be a very useless behavior that was frequently condemned by society-at-large. Not only was it assumed to be frivolous, but it was formally diagnosed as an illness thought to be injurious to the person who consumed it.

The act was lumped in with other compulsive consumptive behaviors including the ingestion of starch, paint, cigarette butts, or burnt matches. Well, that’s one way to certainly suppress the desire of individuals to consume a natural medicine.

If herbs are so great, and they work so well, then why aren’t more herbs sold through pharmacies as prescription drugs?

This is a really good question which I will begin to answer in this article.

When I write about eating dirt, I’m not actually talking about heading to your backyard and scooping out a spoonful of dirt. Not all dirt is the same. In fact, I would plainly tell you to stay away from scraping up the dirt under your shoes and pretending it’s good for you!

What I am talking about is a very special type of dirt. A type of dirt that is called, clay. And the clay that I am speaking of is a supplement that has undergone specific clinical studies to validate its use as a detoxifier. It’s called montmorillonite clay and it’s the subject of my second book, Healing with Clay: A Practical Guide to Earth’s Oldest Natural Remedy.

Several adsorbents were shown to be effective in counteracting the effects of the poison before the poison was ingested. Among them were bentonite and montmorillonite. However, only one adsorbent proved successful in counteracting the toxic effects of the poison after it was ingested: clay.

New research published in BMC Biomedical Engineering suggests that eating a side of montmorillonite clay might help to prevent obesity by flushing fat from your system. Scientists at the University of South Australia accidentally found that this kind of clay binds to fat and carries it out of the body better than a weight loss drug. They believe dirt might be the key to fighting the obesity epidemic.

Occasionally, a new alternative therapy comes around that catches the internet by storm. Well, it’s time for cold plunges and sensory deprivation tanks to move over. The new kid has arrived in town, and it’s called, “salt-cave therapy”.

Some scientists postulate that the sulphide-rich medicinal dead sea clay works on topical conditions because of its mineral profile. Lately, however, another reason has emerged a likely answer for why clay possesses unique healing properties: its healing effects on the skin might be due to the microbes and microbial genes associated with metabolism of minerals like iron and sulphur.

This is PART ONE of a SIX PART Interview series. Dr. Eugene Zampieron, ND interviewed Ran Knishinsky, author of Healing with Clay: A Practical Guide to Earth’s Oldest Natural Remedy about the health benefits of edible clay.

This is PART TWO of a SIX PART Interview series. Dr. Eugene Zampieron, ND interviewed Ran Knishinsky, author of Healing with Clay: A Practical Guide to Earth’s Oldest Natural Remedy about the health benefits of edible clay.

This is PART THREE of a SIX PART Interview series. Dr. Eugene Zampieron, ND interviewed Ran Knishinsky, author of Healing with Clay: A Practical Guide to Earth’s Oldest Natural Remedy about the health benefits of edible clay.

This is PART FOUR of a SIX PART Interview series. Dr. Eugene Zampieron, ND interviewed Ran Knishinsky, author of Healing with Clay: A Practical Guide to Earth’s Oldest Natural Remedy about the health benefits of edible clay. -

This is PART FIVE of a SIX PART Interview series. Dr. Eugene Zampieron, ND interviewed Ran Knishinsky, author of Healing with Clay: A Practical Guide to Earth’s Oldest Natural Remedy about the health benefits of edible clay.

This is PART SIX of a SIX PART Interview series.

Dr. Eugene Zampieron, ND interviewed Ran Knishinsky, author of Healing with Clay: A Practical Guide to Earth’s Oldest Natural Remedy about the health benefits of edible clay.

First, let’s just acknowledge the simple fact that food must be edible. Ideally it should have some nutritional value. Second, the ideal food should contain zero toxins. But most food if not all foods that we consume contain toxins and many of these toxins are naturally occurring. So how can a toxic food provide nutritional value if it appears to be killing you at the same time? Read the blog now…

The idea that, in most cases, eating dirt is probably a way to get rid of toxins could explain why people and animals so often prefer claylike soils to other kinds of earth. Negatively charged clay molecules easily bind to positively charged toxins in the stomach and gut—preventing those toxins from entering the bloodstream by ferrying them through the intestines and out of the body in feces.

Most of the “natural cleanses” that are touted today for detoxification aren’t really for detoxification. In the world of natural wellness, various types of cleanses and detoxification programs abound. These days there are all kinds of juice and smoothie cleanses, detoxifying teas, and other stuff out there, almost too much to count. Just because its natural, doesn’t mean it’s a detox.

The book, Healing with Clay: A Practical Guide to Earth’s Oldest Natural Remedy, has now been officially out for almost two months. I was super excited to release the second edition of the book. This is because the information now available on the subject matter really demonstrates the scientific validity around the practice of eating clay.